Fastener for boxes or the like



June 28, 1932. A. A WELLER 1,864,780

FASTENER FOR BOXES OR THE LIKE Filed March 18, 1931 Patented .lune 2S, 1932 narran stares ARTBR A.. WELLFJR, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSGNO-R TO THE MASON BOX PAlENT Vorifice 1 COMPANY, OF ATTLEBORO FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, .A CORPORATION 0F MASSAGHU- SETTS FASTENER FOR BOXES OR THE Application led March 18, 1931. Serial No. 523,403,

rI-he invention relates to fasteners for temporarily securing separable portions'of a box, envelope or the like, and pertains'more particularly to improvements in metallic box fasteners of the deformable type especially suitable for detachably holding the closed coveror lid of a pasteboard box for mailing or other purposes.

rlfhe principalpurpose of the invention is to provide a. simple, economical andeticient fastener of the aforesaid class, in which a bendable tab or'looprof duct-ile wire adapted to be passed through a slot or aperture of the box cover, is so axed to the side of a box that its exposed portions present smooth, rounded surfaces, thereby avoiding ysharp edges or projections which might scratch or injure the hands of the user or catch and damage other articles. rIhe projecting end of the loop is bent or folded over onto the outer surface of the box cover to secure it in closed position, in accordancewith common practice.

l am aware that box fasteners have heretofore been devi sed in which a deformable wire loop serves to retain the closed cover, but it isl very difhcult to attach such prior fastener to the body of the box without leaving an unprotected end of the wire protruding at the outer side of the box wall. The presence of such projecting wire ends is objectionable not only because ofthe likelihood of injuryV to the fingers but also because the ends tend to straighten out during handling and hence loosen the attachment of the fastener. It is accordingly the main object of the present invention to produce a fastener which retains the several advantages of the previous wire loops while avoiding and remedying the objections above noted. To this end l have devised a two part fastener comprising a loopmember of ductile wire-and a saddle or cover member applied over the legs of the wire loop and secured tothe box wall so that the loop is pernoanentlyv attached to the box body with its extreme ends concealed and protected either between the box wall and the saddle or lby passing the wire ends inwardlythrough the box wall and clench-v ing them against the inner face thereof.

Further objects reside in the improved features of thel several embodiments of the invention hereinafter described in connection with the'accomp'anying drawing, and will be pointed out in the appended claims. It will be understood, however, that structural details ofthe particular devices chosen for the purpose of illustration may be Variedto suit :sis

particular purposes without departing from the spirit of this invention; and that the improvedfastener may be'suitably employed in association with thelbody and flap o-f an envelope, in attaching y paper sheets to a relatively stitf hacker, or in connection with boxes of various materials, size and construction.

lIn the drawing: Fig. 1 is a perspective Viewv of a box equipped ywith a preferred form of the improved fastener; Y y

Fig. 2, is a plan'view of a separable cover adapted to be fastened upon the box of Fig.' 1 Fig. `3 isan end view of the box with the cover applied, vshowing in broken lines the usual folded position ofthe fastener loop;

Fig. 4 is a compositeview showing the. wire loop and the4 saddle or cover plate'prior to their assemblage and attachment to the box of Figs. l to 3;

Fig. ,5 is an enlarged section taken on line 5-" of`Fig.1;p f

. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the two parts of a modified form of fastener prior to attachment; 'Fig'.f? lis Va section on line 7 7 of Fig.V 6, illustrating themodeof attachment thereof;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary end view of abox equipped with another modification ofthe improved fastener; and

Fig. 9 is asection on line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

In theparticular embodiment of the invention chosenfor thepurpose `of illustration in Figs. l to 5, opposite'end walls of the box 1l are equipped with a preferred form ofthe improved fastener which is permanently at.- tached to the body vof the box preferably at its upper edge, and which kcomprises a loop member 12 Aof-ductile wire bent in U-shape and having its lower extremities curled inwardly to provide spaced eyes 13; and a saddle Vor Vcover platev 14 applied over the legs and eye portions of the loop and fastened to the box wall to clamp the loop member between itself and said wall. The upper or looped portion of the member 12 preferably projects above the edge of the box in the manner of a tab and is adapted to be inserted in complemental slots 15 formed in the box cover 16 and to be bent over as indicated by the broken lines of Fig. 3 to hold the closed cover firmly in position. Y

The saddle or strap 14 may be convenient-ly formed from a blank of sheet metal shaped as indicated in Fig. 4 'and preferably having side tabs or ears 17 which are bent rearwardly as on the dotted fold lines prior to or during the application of the saddle to the loop legs and box wall. The ears 17 preferably are struck through the box body and clenched Within (Fig. 5) or over the inner surface of the box, to clamp the loop in its applied position. When so applied the loop is prevented from longitudinal movement (in a vertical direction) by shoulders or protuberanoes 18 formed on the inner side of the saddle or plate 14 and engaging in the eyes 13 as shown in Fig. 5. The protuberances may readily be formed by punching rounded detents inwardly of the body of the plate 14 at the regions shown by the broken lines 19 of Fig. 4.

The fastener may be applied and secured to the box either by hand or by appropriate machines, and when mechanically affixed the loop may be applied to the box wall, the saddle positioned over the loop legs, the retaining tabs 17 forced into the wall and clenched thereto, and the detents 18 depressed into the eyes 13 by simultaneous or successive operations in a single machine. The fastener members are thus iirmly and securely attached to the box and relative longitudinal displacement thereof is effectively prevented by the mutual engagement of the complemental elements 13 and 18 of the loop and saddle respectively. It will be observed that the objectionable presence of sharp wire ends at the outer side of the box is avoided by this arrangement, and that the saddle or plate 14 completely covers the legs and extremities of the loop and not only prevents papers or other articles from catching behind the wire legs but also obviates the possibility of lateral displacement thereof.

In this and the succeeding variations of the improved fastener, the wire loop preferably has offset shoulders 19 disposed above the upper edge of the saddle to provide a predetermined hinge line upon which the upper or tab portion of the loop may be bent over to secure the box cover. Hence, the bending of the tab causes merely a twisting stress at the wire shoulders and avoids the direct shearing strain which is normally imposed upon the straight wire sides of previous loop fasteners.l The life of the fasteneris thus prolonged, for the tendency of the Wire to break at the bend or fold line is greatly diminished.

In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the loop 22 has its lower ends 23 bent toward and preferably overlapping each other, and the saddle or cover plate 24 has, in addition to the side tabs 25, a bottom tab 27 which is bent inwardly beneath the wire ends 23 and thence upwardly and outwardly above said ends torprovide a shoulder 28 which protrudes over the ends 23, so'that the loop is held against longitudinal displacement. Obviously, the shoulder or abutment 28 may consist of a hump of the box material which is pressed outwardly by clenchingV the tab 26 as aforesaid, or may be formedby the tab end itself in case thetip of the tab is punched entirely through the box wall in its outward course. In this arrangement also the loop legs are completely enclosed and protected, and the side tabs 25 are fastened in the same manner as the tabs 17 of Fig. 5.

The further variation illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 comprises a loop 32 having its ends 33 bent inwardly and clenched in the box wall, and a saddle or strap 34 consisting of a piece of wire which straddles the legs 35 of the loop and has its inwardly bent ends 36 bent over and clenched within the box wall 9) or upon its inner surface.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the improved fastener is simple and economical to manufacture, easy to apply, and convenient and eflicient in use; that it is characterized by the absence of projecting or uncovered wire ends particularly at the outer surface of the box or other article to which the fastener is applied; and that it possesses the many advantages of prior loop fasteners without their objectionable insecurity and risk of injury to the hands of the user.

I claim:

1. A fastener permanently attached to the body of a box and adapted to be detachably secured to a slotted cover for the box, comprising a loop member formed of asingle piece of ductile wire having parallel legs applied against the outer surface of the box', and a saddle straddling said legs and covering the ends of said legs, the saddle having retaining Vportions engaging the box body to clamp the loop legs therebetween.

2. A fastener permanently attached to the body of a box and adapted to be detachably secured to a slotted cover for the box, comprising a loop member formed of a single piece of ductile wire having parallel legs applied against the outer surface of the box, and a cover plate straddling the legs and applied over the end portions thereof, said plate having retaining ears struck through the box body at opposite sides of the loop and engaging the inner surface of the body to clamp the loop legs between the plate and body.

3. A box fastener of the class described comprising a loop member formed of ductile wire having parallel portions applied to the side of a box, a saddle embracing the leg portions and covering the end portions of the loop member to clamp it against the box, and complemental elements carried by the loop and saddle for preventing longitudinal displacement of the loop. 1 4. A box fastener of the class described comprising a loop member formed of ductile wire applied to the side of a box, and a saddle embracing and covering the end portions of the loop member to clamp it against l5 the box, said end portions having eyes disposed behind the saddle and the saddle having protuberances engaging said eyes to prevent longitudinal displacement of the loop member.

5. A box fastener of the class described comprising a loop member formed of ductile wire applied to the side of a box, and a saddle embracing and covering the end portions of the loop member to clamp it against the box, the extremities of said legs being looped upon themselves and the saddle having inwardly struck detents engaging said looped extremities to prevent longitudinal displacement of the loop member.

6. A box fastener of the class described comprising a loop member formed of ductile wire applied to the side of a box, and a saddle embracing and covering the end portions of the loop member to clamp it against the box, the end portions of the loop member being bent toward each other into juxtaposed overlapping relation, and the saddle having a retaining tab entering the box side below the loop ends and curling upwardly and outwardly above said ends, thereby to provide a transverse shoulder engaging there- Vover to prevent longitudinal displacement of the loop member.

7. A box fastener of the class described comprising a loop member formed of ductile wire and having substantially parallel legs terminating in integral eyes, said member being applied to the outer side of the box, and a cover plate secured over the ends of the leg portions, said plate having side ears clenched through the box body and-having inwardly struck protuberances received within said eyes.

Signed by me at Attleboro Falls, Mass., 55 (Bristol County), this 16th day of March,

ARTHUR A. WELLER.

@assuma/1ER 1,864,780.-Arthar A. Wetter, Providence, R. l. FAsTnNnR FOR Boxns 0R THE LIKE. Patent dated June 28, 1932. Disclaimer filed July 23, 1935, by the assignee, The Mason Box Company.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1 and 2 thereof, which are as follows:

1. A fastener permanently attached to the body of a box and adapted to be detachably secured to a slotted cover for the box, comprising a loop member formed of a single piece of ductile wire having parallel legs applied against the outer surface of the box, and a saddle straddling said legs and covering the ends of said legs, the saddle having retaining portions engaging the box body to clamp the loop legs therebetween.

H2. A fastener permanently attached to the body of a boX and adapted to be detachably secured to a slotted cover for the box, comprising a loop member formed of a single piece of ductile wire having parallel legs applied against the outer surface of the box, and a cover plate straddling the legs and applied over the end portions thereof, said plate having retaining earsstruck through the box body at opposite sides of the loop and engaging the inner surface of the body to clamp the loop legs between the plate and body.

[Oficial Gazette September 17, 1935.] 

